Once again my mentor between the pages, Oswald Chambers, made a statement that caught my attention: The Holy Spirit Doesn’t Change Me.

Well, like you, I have always understood that the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament came “upon” man because because Jesus had not yet been glorified …

John 7:39 Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. ESV

So the disciples had to wait for Him. It was only after Jesus’ ascension that He came to live “in” man on the day of Pentecost; to clothe the disciples with power from on high … power from Jesus.

Luke 24:49 And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” ESV

The Holy Spirit has been here ever since. Man does not have to wait for Him, he only has to receive the revelation that He is here. It is up to the bride of Christ to maintain the understanding that we have received life eternal as the result of making Jesus Lord of our life.

So, what did Chambers say that got my attention?

I have always looked at the work of the Holy Spirit as “changing me;” conforming me into the image of Jesus (Rom 8:29) in preparation for the day that I will stand before Jesus and have my life down here accounted for. But that’s not entirely correct.

It’s not the Holy Spirit who changes me, it’s the power of Christ in me that changes me. The Holy Spirit is the evidence of the fact that Jesus lives in me; evidence of the ascended Christ. What changes me is me yielding to the life of Christ that lives in me. When I gave my life to Jesus He gave me “all” of Himself … purity, holiness, faithfulness, love; all of Him, His total image/character. Now the ball is in my court and it is my choice whether or not I allow the Holy Spirit to lead me into the revelation of what that means and what there is in me that is holding it back from witnessing the life of Christ to the world around me.

It is the power of Jesus that changes me and that change is “now,” not some day in eternity. It is up to me to listen to my “counselor” (the Holy Spirit) and to be obedient to what He is revealing to me, to allow the power of the risen Christ to change me … to “work out” what He has already “worked in” me that was brought by the Holy Spirit. He is the constant reminder of what I have been given and my responsibility to submit to the process that will change me and reveal that change to the world around me … to the glory of God.

The Holy Spirit reveals to me what it is that needs to be changed … when I am obedient and submit to that fact … the power of the risen Christ makes it happen. As I change, I get to know my Lord better, I draw ever closer to Him, I begin to look more like Him … and the Father is glorified.